y in and day out we covered five northward marches in three
return marches. Every day we gained on the return lessened the chances
of the trail being destroyed by high winds shifting the ice. There was
one region just above the 87th parallel, a region about fifty-seven
miles wide, which gave me a great deal of concern until we had passed
it. Twelve hours of strong wind blowing from any quarter excepting the
north would have turned that region into an open sea. I breathed a sigh
of relief when we left the 87th parallel behind.

[Illustration: ACTUAL SOUNDING, FIVE MILES SOUTH OF THE POLE, APRIL 7,
1909, 1500 FATHOMS (9000 FT.) NO BOTTOM]

It will be recalled, perhaps, that though the expedition of 1905-06
started for the Pole from the northern shore of Grant Land, just as did
this last expedition, the former expedition returned by a different
route, reaching land again on the Greenland coast. This result was
caused by the fact that strong winds carried the ice upon which we
traveled far to the eastward of our upward course. This time, however,
we met with no such misfortune. For the most part we found the trail
renewed by our supporting parties easily recognizable and in most cases
in good condition. Moreover there was an abundance of food both for men
and for dogs, and so far as equipment went we were stripped as if for
racing. Nor must the stimulating effects of the party's high spirits be
forgotten. Everything, in short, was in our favor. We crowded on all
speed for the first five miles of our return journey. Then we came to a
narrow crack which was filled with recent ice, which furnished a chance
to try for a sounding, a thing that had not been feasible at the Pole
itself on account of the thickness of the ice. Here, however, we were
able to chop through the ice until we struck water. Our sounding
apparatus gave us 1500 fathoms of water with no bottom. As the Eskimos
were reeling in, the wire parted and both the lead and wire went to the
bottom. With the loss of the lead and wire, the reel became useless, and
was thrown away, lightening Ooqueah's sledge by eighteen pounds. The
first camp, at 89 deg. 25', was reached in good time, and the march would
have been a pleasant one for me but for my eyes burning from the strain
of the continued observations of the previous hours.

After a few hours' sleep we hurried on again, Eskimos and dogs on the
_qui vive_.

At this camp I began the system followed throughout the retu